Chapter Three
My feelings for Sombra fluttered between liking him and feeling uneasy around him. On one hoof, he was great; he's nice (when he wanted to be), he's smart (he's showed me how to cook a few things and tell me how these treats are important), and he's attractive. On the other hoof, it was a little more… stressing. He always watched me with a calculating gaze, held himself as if he were the most important stallion around, and made it a point to show how much he knew.
But the good outweighed the bad in the end.
"Sombra?" I rapped my hoof against his door. "Sombra, open up. I have a really important question to ask you!" I heard a groan from beyond the wooden barrier and a click as the lock was undone. Sombra appeared in the door way, looking groggier than a bear in the middle of winter hibernation. His hair was more unruly than normal.
"It's dawn," he grunted, standing aside to let me in. "What could be so important to wake me at this unholy hour?" He was not a morning pony, it seemed. At least he was nice enough to answer me.
"For your information, it's noon." I pulled the obnoxious news' colt card. "And what is the importance of a Royal Crystal Empire Ball?" I sat myself down at his kitchen table, folding my wings neatly against my flanks.
"I've never experienced one. Wouldn't be able to tell you." He continued his search through the cabinets and the pantry for five minutes. Then seemed to realize and turned to me. He saw the tickets I held up in the air with my magic. "You got invited?"
"Yes, but alas, I've no one to go with!" I leaned back dramatically, my hoof against my forehead. My eyes were shut, so I couldn't exactly see his expression. "My brother will already be there, but he'll be with Sunlight Delight." I huffed and leaned forward on my hooves; it had only been a few days ago I discovered that my brother and the princess were a "thing." "And so that brings me here."
"You want me to go with you."
"No, I wanna take your cat." I gestured to the blue fuzz-ball of a cat waddling in. "Yes, I want you to go with me. Will you go?" Hope swelled in my chest like a balloon. He turned away thoughtfully, resuming his task of pouring himself a glass of water.
"You'll just have to wait and see if I arrive." He grinned at me over his shoulder. I puffed up my cheeks. "Don't give me that face. It'll be a surprise and you'll be happy."
"Does that mean you're going?"
"It's a surprise. You could be highly disappointed too." Sombra snickered and sat at the table, sipping his water.
I stuck my tongue out at him. "You're so mean to me." The hope-balloon in my chest was halfway deflated now. I placed one of the tickets down on the table and the other in my saddle bag. "Well, I'm gonna go now."
"Fine."
I left his house feeling highly uncertain. He always acted like a jerk, but usually in a good way. But it was a serious question, and he didn't give me a serious answer. One of those uneasy, he's-up-to-no-good feelings surfaced once again in my chest, and I quickly shook it away. No, he wanted to surprise me. I would just have to wait and see.
"Hey, Despara!" Again, I had somehow managed to show up at the Crystal Heart.